


Back on Track

by Sarcastic_Soulmate



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Forbidden Love, Other, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23599381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarcastic_Soulmate/pseuds/Sarcastic_Soulmate
Summary: POVs from both Ben and Leslie during the episode Smallest Park. (S04E08)
Relationships: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	Back on Track

**Author's Note:**

> I feel really proud of this work, I hope y'all will too.

Ben knew he couldn't deal with being constantly in Leslie's orbit. It was just too painful. He loved her, even though he didn't want to admit it to himself. 

The smallest park project was just the tip of the iceberg. It was months of being apart from Leslie, apart from getting to hug and kiss her and be around her. He didn't just miss her romantically either. He missed their friendship, their banter, their eating burgers on the bench in front of the wildflower mural, her teasing him about calzones, all of it. Everything about being around her was just so perfect, which is why he had to do it. He had to cut all contact with her.

Leslie didn't want to admit that she had fallen in too deep. Or maybe not deep enough. She didn't want to think about if things were just a bit different, if circumstances weren't the same, would things all work out in the end? She wishes there weren't so many consequences. 

These are the thoughts that kept Leslie awake at night, preventing her from getting the already little amount of sleep she usually gets. She knows she shouldn't have tried to trick him into staying around longer, but that's sometimes what you do when you're in love. 

Oh my God. Did she really just think that? Is she really in love with him? This can't get any worse. Being in love with someone who doesn't want to be around her. It's a tangled web we weave. 

She sits there, on the park bench, waiting for him. Will he come? Or will he ignore her, forever? Did she mess everything up? Is there even an everything anymore? Is she making a fool out of herself by being here? The sound of footsteps interrupts her from her thoughts. 

"Hey."

"Hey." 

"I wasn't sure you were going to come. " 

"Well, I got very curious when I only got one voicemail message instead of your usual 20." 

"I'm trying to be a little less intense and a little more considerate." 

Ben, deep down, doesn't want her to have to change for his sake. She's already considerate enough as it is. And he lo-likes her intensity. Except for today. But they were both hurting. 

"Here, sit down. But only if you want to." Leslie tries to sound calm and collected. She can't do this, but she has to. She has to tamp down her feelings, and put his needs first. She feels like she's always doing that for people. Maybe that's what caused her to act out today. 

"Ok, I want to." Ben replies. He looks at her. God, she's really trying. It pains him to think of how he's treated her. He remembers a while back that Ann mentioned to him that she has had the worst breakups, jerks who broke her heart in embarrassing, careless ways. Leslie even told him about some of them. He didn't want to be one of them. Oh well, too late for that now. 

Leslie takes a deep breath. "I never listened to what you wanted, or how you wanted us to be when things... ended between us." 

Ben looks at the ground. 

"I only thought about what I wanted, and got upset when you didn't want the same thing. I know that's not fair, and I'm very sorry."

"Well, thank you, I appreciate that." Ben replies, with a lump in his throat. She just poured her heart out, and all he said was that? He felt like such a jerk.

Leslie takes another deep breath. She doesn't want to do this but she has to. She's the one at fault here, the jerk, the one who ruined everything. "If you don't want to have anymore contact with me, I finally understand." She hoped her eyes didn't give away what she was actually feeling. 

"I don't want that. Really. But I just think it's for the best." 

"Okay." 

Ben gets up and starts to leave when Leslie's next words stop him in his tracks. He sees something in her eyes. Hope. 

"There is another option."

He looks at her. 

"We could just say 'screw it' and do this thing for real." Leslie says, quickly, before she could change her mind. Even if she said it slowly, she probably wouldn't have.

"What?" 

"I miss you like crazy. I think about you all the time. I want to be with you. So let's just say 'screw it.'" 

"No, we would have to tell Chris-

"Yeah."

"It would cause a scandal-

"Yeah." 

"It could hurt your campaign-

"Yeah." 

"How would you imagine we do this?" Ben inquired. He desperately wanted to say yes, but he didn't want her to just be acting on impulse. He didn't want to have to face the possibility of her changing her mind later. 

"I don't know. But I want to be with you. But I'm done steamrolling people. This is how I feel, how do you feel?" She did it. She put it all out there. The months of pain, hurt, and thoughts. She put the ball in his court. It's all up to him now. 

Ben didn't answer her with words. He moved quickly, grabbed her and kissed her. Kissed her with the intensity and love that he had thought about all this time. 

His life was back on track. He got his girl back. Well, maybe not exactly back on track. There's a high chance that both of them are going to get fired. But whatever's next, they're in it together.


End file.
